


Summer Love

by Loki_Anansi



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Bisexual Male Character, Coming Out, First Love, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Pansexual Character, Postpartum Depression, Separation Anxiety, Summer Romance, Summer Vacation, Teenage Rebellion, company rivalry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-10-25 15:44:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20726702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loki_Anansi/pseuds/Loki_Anansi
Summary: You’re in a car with a beautiful boy,and you’re trying not to tell him that you love him, and you’re trying tochoke down the feeling, and you’re trembling,- Richard SikenWhere Anthony Edward Stark didn't think a summer vacation would change the entire course of his life.Of course he didn't take into account Stephen Vincent Strange. Then again, no one really does until it's too late.





	Summer Love

**Author's Note:**

> Well, would you look at this: another IronStrange fic 
> 
> Honestly I've been meaning to write this for a while back. It's only now that my Muse allowed to me get some ideas for this.

# Age 14

“No.”

His mother paused as if confused by what he said. She turned to look at him, long earrings swinging with her spin and she seemed to see that something was going on. Maria set down the jeans she was folding into her son’s luggage before walking across the room and sitting down by his side.

“No?”

Tony knew better to look at his mom when arguing, she had this way of pulling you in with just a single look in her eyes. Even his father wasn’t immune to it, nodding dumbly at whatever she said when he looked into her eyes. No matter how drunk or furious he was, Maria Stark was able to stop him with just a look and a confident stance.

_ Sometimes, she wasn’t around to stop Howard, and those days Tony learned to hide until he could hear his mother calling for him. And sometimes, Tony wasn’t fast enough to escape his wrathful father. _

_ Things improved when his mom started to stay around and then got even better than that when Jarvis was hired. _

His mother hummed as Tony looked down and crossed his arms over his stomach. He shook his hair when she tried to rest her hand on his curls but all she did was huff before throwing her weight on his back in some resemblance of a hug.

If it weren’t for his quick reflexes then Tony would’ve toppled off his bed, dragging his mom with him onto the dark carpet. Instead Tony was able to tilt to the side and end up facing his mom, side by side. Maria was fixing her hair so that it was out of her face as Tony opened his mouth to screech his indignation to the world, but a sharp look from his mom’s green eyes made him shut his mouth without hesitation 

By the time the sharpness bled into softness, Tony already knew that he was gonna lose. He took a moment to admire his mother; her hair was down in waves, a rare thing to see since Maria liked to keep her hair up in elaborate designs. She had earrings that reached her shoulders but somehow didn’t look horrendous. Dressed in a red dress and bathed in the sunlight that shone through his windows, Tony wondered how a man like his father (_ Howard, it’s Howard now _) somehow managed to capture her attention.

**Flashback**

_ It baffled Tony so much that he remembered a time that he couldn’t keep the question in and it burst from him in a rush. _

_ They were both in the sun room, and Jarvis was in the walk in kitchen cooking up lunch for all three. Howard was in his lab, far away enough that the constant smell of rum wasn’t around. Tony was trying his hardest to create, but the constant thought kept him from concentrating, so he opened his mouth and let it out. _

_ “Why do you stay with him Momma?” _

_ The inquiry shocked Maria enough that she set down the book she was reading and directed her attention to the boy that was playing at her heels, wires and pieces of metal parts scattered all around him. The noise in the kitchen quieted down in response to his question. _

_ “Bambi?” There was a certain edge to her that caused a buzzing in the back of his mind, but Tony pushed it to the side because he knew that his Momma would never hurt him ( _ ** _That was Howard’s area of expertise_ ** _ ). _

_ Tony whined, something he always did whenever his Momma called him that name. He was a Tony! Not a deer! “Mamma don’t call me that! I asked why do you stay with him? After what he did?” _

_ Maria flinched as if hit and Jarvis appeared as if summoned, a concerned expression on his face that smoothed over once Maria nodded that she was ok. She turned towards Tony and opened her arms to hug. _

_ Tony immediately bounced off the floor and into her lap, small hands already wrapping around her neck, careful with the necklace that was there. He tucked his face onto her chest and watched the sky that appeared outside the window. Maria wrapped her arms around her son as if protecting him from harm ( _ ** _too late_ ** _ ) and considered what to say. _

_ “You’re my Bambi, I can call you whatever I want, that’s my right as your Mami.” _

_ Maria felt the huff that went through his small chest and a small amount of amusement appeared within her before she squashed it down. It wasn’t the time to joke around. _

_ “Bambi, you know that family is everything right?” Here she paused as Tony nodded his head. “And we need to stay together. He’s our family Anthony ( _ ** _lies)_ ** _ and we need to stick together to get through this okay? I love him Bambi and sometimes love does crazy things to you.” _

_ Maria took a breath to continue on but Tony almost knocking into her chin stopped her. She went to scold him when he looked up with tears brimming his eyes. “I don’t wanna be in love!” The wailing statement stopped Maria short as she wondered where that came from. _

_ Before she could think of it, she was already shushing him and wiping away tears. “Hey, hey it’s ok Bambi. What’s wrong?” Tony went for another wail but stopped when Maria gave him her signature look; the _ _ Do you really want to do that? _ _ Look. _

_ He huffs before looking at her with wide brown eyes, and Maria wonders where she fucked up when she let the light inside him die out. _

** _Maybe it was the time she let herself go into the spotlight, drugs & alcohol at her side through the fall. Maybe it was the moments where she ran away from the mansion, the drunken brilliant man that she still was impossibly in love with, when she left the only good thing that ever came from her; pleading for help and comfort but given nothing in return but sudden absences and late returns._ **

** _Maybe his innocence died when Maria decided that her life ended the moment he was born. (_ ** **Lies. Looking into his dark sleepy eyes was the moment that Maria knew she was going to give her life to him. But the numbness took ahold of her before Maria could stop it.)**

_ She steadied herself as her son wiped his tears away. In the midst of rubbing his eyes, Tony murmured his reasoning. _

_ “If-if love is the reason why he’s around, then I don’t wanna be in love! I rather run away with Momma and Jarvis and leave him behind! I’m never falling in love, never, never, never!” _

_ Oh boy. How is she going to fix this? Maria was saved by answering when Jarvis walked back out with Tony’s lunch. He set it down before grabbing Tony’s attention. _

_ “Young Master? Lunch is ready, why don’t we head outside to eat while Mrs.Stark finishes up her reading?” Tony immediately took off from her lap and grabbed his plate before running out of the sun room; servants yelled out warnings about running in the hallways but eventually let it go. _

_ Maria was so frazzled by the question and then sudden turn of conversation that she sat there stunned while Jarvis leaned down to whisper into her ear. _

_ “You have fifteen minutes before Howard comes out of his lab, which means you have ten minutes to calm yourself down and get your act together. Don’t worry about Anthony, I’ll take care of him while you deal with Howard.” Jarvis paused as if to give his next words some emphasis, “ _ ** _Don’t_ ** _ let him go without consequences Maria, my job is to make sure Howard doesn’t do _ ** _anything _ ** _ to Anthony ever again. Your job? Be the mother that Anthony needed and still needs. Remember why you stayed Maria, why you hired me and everything will work out.” _

_ His point made, Jarvis leaned back and fixed his sleeve cuffs before walking out of the dark sun room to Tony. _

_ And Maria? Stayed frozen on the couch until the scent of rum returned into the room and the heavy footsteps of her husband reached her senses._

_ Maria wiped away her tears and stood up, ready to deal with her idiot of a husband. (_ **_sometimes she wondered why she still loved him after what he did, but then he would smile and this light would appear in the same colored eyes that her Bambi had and the doubts would leave her mind. How could she not love him? It was impossible not to.)_ **

**Flashback Ends**

“Bambi? What’s wrong? I know the idea of being with me and your father for the entire summer seems daunting, but the small town close to our lake house will probably have some teenagers you can hang out with. Also! My good friend Beverly is bringing her son who’s around your age, so maybe the both of you can hang out together. Anthony, are you feeling okay? Do you want Jarvis to give you a check-up before he sets off?”

His mother’s endless chatter and hands framing his face bring him out of memory lane. Tony flinches before he could stop the motion, scolding himself when he saw his mom answer with a flinch of her own. He covers her hands with his own, and with a slightly squashed voice replies before she could worry any further. 

“Ma, I’m fine I swear! And the vacation is going to be fun, just give me a moment to get used to the idea that I’ll be living in the woods for the next 4 months. And don’t interrupt Jarvis, he probably can’t wait to leave the mansion and spend the summer with Ana. I’m just a little worried about having Howard in a closed off space without his lab to spend time in.”

If Tony was being honest, he didn’t give a damn about Howard and his lab, but he would rather say anything to stop his mom from worrying. And it worked, like flipping a switch, Maria grew excited and leaned in closer as if telling her son a secret.

Tony loved the change and did nothing to stop her. “Howard still thinks I don’t remember the wine cellar that’s under the Lake House. Why don’t you and me go ahead of time and move the bottles into another room? He’ll be too busy with the luggage and settling some work to even notice us gone.”

He let out a loud laugh before covering his mouth, giggles still slipped out as his mom dramatically shushed him. “I love the idea, let’s do it! Why don’t we empty out some and fill them with water?”

“My marvelous son! What an amazing idea, where did you come up with that?”

“I'm a genius ma, and honestly seeing his reaction as he connects the dots will be hilarious!”

Maria directs a fond look to Tony before she rolls off of the bed, getting to her feet in a graceful matter. She hurries to the door before turning around and directing a look full of mischief and happiness. 

“Finish packing up and I’ll take one of your father’s cars to the backroads, meet me there in an hour. Clear?”

“Crystal.”

“Good! Oh and don't think I won't be asking why you’re upset. I’ll get it out of you sooner or later.”

As she swept out of Tony’s room, the teen himself rolled off the bed and onto the carpet floor with a dramatic groan. Tony hoped to the gods that he was able to distract his mom enough that she would totally forget his current existential crisis.

And yes, ‘current’ existential crisis. Third one of this year so far if Tony has been keeping count. (_Which he definitely has_) But he now has something to look forward to; fucking up Howard’s vacation.

‘_This actually might not be so bad!_’ The thought went through Tony’s mind as he dragged himself up to his half-made luggage. 

_ 4 hours later, wine hidden and traps set, Tony will answer the door of the Lake House and be greeted with his mother’s close friend and her jackass of a son. _

_ Of course Tony Stark jinxed himself. As if life would go easy on him. _

**Author's Note:**

> SO!
> 
> Hope you liked it enough to comment or leave a kudos!
> 
> Please do tell me if there's any typos or things just don't make sense.


End file.
